For years, Gamelihle Mbuyane supplied the soundtrack to the African National Congress (ANC)’s political ambitions, singing the praises of its presidents and stirring thousands of supporters at rallies.
Now, the musician who once urged South Africans to rally behind Cyril Ramaphosa wants voters to help Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party challenge the ANC in Mpumalanga’s capital.
Mbuyane is contesting a proportional representation (PR) council seat in the City of Mbombela, turning his celebrated voice into a political weapon against the organisation he once defended so passionately.
On Wednesday, November 4, he is expected to cast his vote at the Multipurpose Centre in Malekutu, Ward 37, at 7.30am.
The setting offers a remarkable political reversal.
The man whose songs helped fill ANC rallies now hopes to secure a seat in the municipality governed by the very party he once celebrated.
And the party he abandoned will be among those whose electoral fortunes he hopes to diminish.
The voice behind the movement
Mbuyane was no ordinary ANC supporter.
His compositions became familiar anthems at political gatherings, helping energise supporters and reinforce the party’s identity during periods of intense factional rivalry.
Among his best-known songs were Asinavalo, Asiwafuni Amagwala and Unity Maqabane (Phakama Ramaphosa).
The last composition celebrated Ramaphosa’s leadership and became particularly associated with his rise within the governing party.
But Mbuyane’s musical loyalties had previously extended to Zuma, illustrating how his work crossed the ANC’s bitter factional divide.
In January 2023, he publicly embraced Ramaphosa’s leadership after previously being associated with the faction sympathetic to Zuma.
He argued that the ANC was bigger than any individual president and urged members to overcome their divisions.
His message was that political disagreements should not destroy the liberation movement.
For a time, his music appeared to embody that ambition.
Then came an extraordinary political divorce.
The day the music stopped
On January 10, 2024, Mbuyane submitted his resignation to the ANC leadership, including Mpumalanga provincial chairperson Mandla Ndlovu, provincial secretary Muzi Chirwa and national secretary-general Fikile Mbalula.
His departure came just days before the ANC’s 112th-anniversary celebrations in Mpumalanga.
But the resignation contained a second, more remarkable demand.
Mbuyane instructed the party to stop using his songs and recordings featuring his voice during political campaigns.
He specifically identified Asinavalo, Asiwafuni Amagwala and Unity Maqabane (Phakama Ramaphosa).
He warned that continued use could prompt legal action under copyright legislation.
The musician who had helped provide the ANC’s political soundtrack was effectively asking the movement to turn down the volume.
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His resignation letter did not give a detailed explanation for his departure.
He indicated that he would provide reasons later if necessary.
Whether the party subsequently reached an agreement with him over the recordings remains unclear.
But his political journey has since taken an unmistakable turn.
He is now seeking public office under Zuma’s MK Party, convinced that Mbombela needs a new political voice to confront its service delivery challenges.
From political anthems to potholes and water
Mbuyane said his decision to contest municipal elections was driven by the deteriorating conditions confronting ordinary residents, particularly in townships and rural communities.
“Local government is the level closest to daily life, where people are affected by many direct challenges,” he said.
“A new voice is needed to be instrumental in shaping the state of the city, which is currently affected by infrastructure development challenges and unemployment.”
His political ambitions now extend beyond composing songs about liberation to confronting the everyday realities of residents struggling with inadequate municipal services.
He identified water shortages, deteriorating township roads, neglected waste areas, unemployment and limited economic opportunities as some of the challenges demanding urgent intervention.
Mbuyane said the MK Party would prioritise water provision, township road infrastructure, the rehabilitation of neglected areas, township economic development and rural agricultural programmes.
“We believe that MKP will enable the programmes which the municipality should have been doing,” he said.
He argued that these interventions would give practical meaning to the party’s radical economic transformation agenda, particularly in communities that have struggled to benefit from economic development.
“By doing all the above work, MKP will be championing radical economic transformation,” he said.
But Mbuyane also wants accountability to become a defining feature of municipal governance.
He believes councillors should be answerable for conditions in their communities rather than merely occupying positions in council.
“Accountability will be the name of the game in the city. Each councillor should account,” he said.
For a musician whose political influence was once measured by the enthusiasm of crowds singing along to his compositions, the challenge now is to convince residents that his party can deliver tangible improvements.
A new political stage in Mbombela
Mbuyane’s candidacy comes as the MK Party seeks to establish itself in municipal politics following its emergence as a significant electoral force in 2024.
The party did not exist when the previous municipal elections were held in 2021.
Its entry into the contest introduces another competitor for voters dissatisfied with the ANC, alongside established opposition parties.
Mbombela is also the scene of an increasingly competitive struggle for municipal power.
The ANC enters the election defending its governing record, while the Economic Freedom Fighters, Democratic Alliance, MK Party and other challengers seek to expand their influence.
Mbuyane is not standing as the MK Party’s Ward 37 candidate. Instead, he is seeking election through the party’s municipal proportional representation list.
His prospects therefore depend on the MK Party’s share of the municipal vote and his position on its candidate list.
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The distinction matters because voters in Malekutu will not be choosing Mbuyane personally on the ward ballot. They will, however, have an opportunity to support the party whose council representation could determine whether he becomes a councillor.
For Mbuyane, the election represents more than a personal political ambition.
“We want our people to have a good story to tell and liberate themselves from all the poor services they’ve been receiving,” he said.
His declaration also marks a striking departure from the political message that once defined his music.
Where his songs previously encouraged supporters to unite behind the ANC, he is now asking those same communities to consider a political alternative.
And the transition from performer to politician introduces an unfamiliar measure of popularity.
Crowds singing along at rallies do not necessarily translate into votes.
Applause, however enthusiastic, cannot secure a council seat.
The final chorus belongs to voters
There is a particularly sharp irony in Mbuyane’s political transformation.
In 2023, he publicly appealed for ANC unity and urged supporters to put the organisation above individual leaders.
A year later, he resigned and demanded that the party stop using the songs that had helped express that unity.
Now, he is contesting an election under a party led by Zuma, the former ANC president whose political relationship with Ramaphosa helped define years of internal conflict.
The musician who once celebrated Ramaphosa’s leadership has become a candidate for Zuma’s political movement.
For Mbuyane, Wednesday’s election is an opportunity to establish whether his influence extends beyond the stage.
For the ANC, it is another reminder that political loyalty can change, even among those who once supplied the music accompanying its victories.
And for voters in Mbombela, the choice will ultimately be about who can govern their municipality and address the daily struggles that political songs alone cannot resolve.
Mbuyane has spent years helping politicians find their rhythm.
On Wednesday, the former ANC singer will discover whether voters are prepared to dance to his new political tune.
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- Gamelihle Mbuyane, once a musician supporting the ANC and Cyril Ramaphosa, resigned from the ANC in January 2024 and demanded the party stop using his songs during campaigns.
- Mbuyane is contesting a proportional representation council seat in Mbombela for Jacob Zuma's uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party in the 2024 municipal elections.
- He cited deteriorating municipal services such as water shortages, neglected roads, waste management, and unemployment as reasons for his political shift and candidacy.
- Mbuyane aims to promote accountability among councillors and advance radical economic transformation through MK Party initiatives in Mbombela.
- His candidacy represents a significant political shift, as he moves from promoting ANC unity in 2023 to opposing the ANC under a party associated with former ANC president Jacob Zuma.
